‘You can’t even tell the difference’ at this vegan fast-food joint opening Saturday

Burger Patch is missing something. Actually, it’s missing a lot.

There’s no chicken in the tenders, no milk in the shakes, no eggs or butter in the salted chocolate chip cookies – which are grilled on the stovetop to work around a lack of ovens. The patties are plant-based Beyond Burgers and come topped with Daiya “cheeze.” When Burger Patch opens to the public Saturday, it’ll become the first all-vegan fast food restaurant in Sacramento, and possibly all of Northern California.

It’ll appeal to people who follow plant-based diets like co-founders Phil and Danea Horn, sure. But Burger Patch is primarily trying to attract “flexitarians” who might be momentarily pulled away from eating animal-derived proteins. If everyone living within a two-mile radius of 2301 K St. eats at Burger Patch once annually instead of indulging their carnivorous tendencies, the midtown restaurant has fulfilled its mission, Phil Horn said.

“We want to showcase that you can eat a plant-based diet and not lose that taste and nostalgia from a traditional burger,“ Phil said.

“We’re going to put a smile on a lot of people’s faces who might have dietary restrictions and haven’t gotten to indulge in a lot of these things for a few years, and then the rest of the folks who are still eating meat or dairy and give this a shot are going to be pretty shocked.”

The Horns shifted toward vegan diets around the time they moved to Sacramento nine years ago, when Danea’s doctors recommended it to fight a chronic kidney disease. She credits the diet with helping her recover quickly after receiving a kidney transplant from Phil in 2013.

The couple came up with the idea for Burger Patch slowly after their vegan transition began nine years ago, but bean-based patties and other substitutes available at the time weren’t convincing alternatives, Phil said. By the time they hosted the first pop-up in 2017 – hawking the first commercially-sold Beyond burgers in Sacramento – vegans comprised 6% of America’s population, up from 1% three years prior, and realistic substitutes were more readily available.

“One of our favorite things is introducing all of our friends and family to how ... you can’t even tell the difference between traditional, non-plant-based (and vegan options), and now we’re thrilled to do that on an even bigger scale,” Danea said.

Faux bacon on the BBQ Patch Burger will come from Moss Landing-based Sweet Earth, and “chick’n” will be sourced from Gardein. Sauces are made in-house, and Burger Patch gets dairy-free buns from Truckee Sourdough Co. as well as gluten-free buns from Pushkin’s Bakery.

Chocolate and vanilla “milkshakes” are actually blended soy, almond and cashew milk sweetened with organic agave. Sodas come from Maine Root, which uses cane sugar in place of high-fructose corn syrup. The first seasonal special will be pulled pork made from soy protein, set to debut at Burger Patch’s booth at Napa Valley festival BottleRock over Memorial Day weekend.

People waited in line for up to four hours at Burger Patch’s first pop-up, indicating community support as well as a need to operate quicker. Wait times at the brick-and-mortar restaurant are down to five or 10 minutes, thanks to a compressed assembly line in the 750-square-foot building’s kitchen.

Price remains a hurdle for plant-based alternatives. At $7.90 to $12.50, Burger Patch burgers are considerably more expensive than those of traditional fast food competitors such as Carl’s Jr. or McDonald’s. With shoestring fries similar to In-N-Out’s and a drink, a meal can stretch into the $15 to $20 range.

Costs are likely further driven up by Burger Patch’s location in a brand-new, mixed-use building on one of midtown’s trendiest corners, where two-bedroom apartments slightly larger than the restaurant’s space go for about $3,000 a month. Future locations may be slightly less ritzy: Burger Patch is already looking at a regional expansion, in addition to keeping its Golden 1 Center stand open.

COO/general manager Stephen Leopold will run the restaurant and its growth strategy as Danea Horn continues working toward her doctorate in agriculture and resource economics at UC Davis. Phil Horn remains in his senior vice president role with the Kings. Origami Asian Grill co-founders Scott Ostrander and Paul DiPierro will also stay on as menu consultants.

Burger Patch will be open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and until 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.

This story was originally published May 2, 2019 at 2:40 AM.